While contemporaries and historians alike hailed the establishmentof Buffalo National Park in Wainwright, Alberta as a wildlife savingeffort, the political climate of the early 20th century worked againstit.
The Canadian Parks Branch was never sufficiently funded to operateBNP effectively or to remedy the crises the animals faced as a result.Cross-breeding experiments with bison and domestic cattle provedunfruitful. Attempts at commercializing the herd had no success.Ultimately, the Department of National Defence repurposed the park formilitary training and the bison disappeared once more.
This book sheds light on the history of Canada's national parks,bison recovery efforts, and environmental thought in the first halfof the twentieth century.
Lost Tracks: Buffalo National Park 1909–1939 is a ‘must read’ for any bison enthusiast with an interest in the history of bison conservation in Canada. In this book, Jennifer Brower describes in clear and concise form the history of the establishment of Buffalo National Park in Wainwright and its significance in the protection of plains bison in Canada. While attempts have been made to pull this story together, none have been as well researched and presented as Lost Tracks.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Where the Buffalo Roamed
Chapter 2: Bison Conservation and Buffalo National Park
Chapter 3: A Well-Run Ranch
Chapter 4: Zookeepers and Animal Breeders
Chapter 5: "Evolving the Arctic Cow"
Conclusion: A Forgotten Park
Bibliography
